Will MOOCs Democratize Education? Not Yet.

Jan 27, 2014

SANCTIONED: Many smart people, like Thomas Friedman, have hopes that MOOCs can democratize education around the world by making content free and accessible. But not so fast. Wamda, a tech blog covering the Middle East and North Africa, reports that Coursera is inaccessible to students in Syria and Iran due to U.S. economic and trade sanctions. Udacity appears to be under the same rules as well, while EdX is reportedly accessible (for the time being). One Facebook commenter asks: "Are there #sanctions on educational material too?"

SANCTIONED: Many smart people, like Thomas Friedman, have hopes that MOOCs can democratize education around the world by making content free and accessible. But not so fast. Wamda, a tech blog covering the Middle East and North Africa, reports that Coursera is inaccessible to students in Syria and Iran due to U.S. economic and trade sanctions. Udacity appears to be under the same rules as well, while EdX is reportedly accessible (for the time being). One Facebook commenter asks: "Are there #sanctions on educational material too?"